63 Inspiring American Quotes That Ignite Patriotism and Purpose

"Americans never quit. We never surrender. We never hide from history. We make history."

- John McCain

"Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the Earth."

- Abraham Lincoln

"This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave."

- Elmer Davis

"True patriotism springs from a belief in the dignity of the individual, freedom and equality not only for Americans but for all people on earth."

- Eleanor Roosevelt

"Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country."

- John F. Kennedy

"I say to you that our goal is freedom, and I believe we are going to get there because however much she strays away from it, the goal of America is freedom."

- Martin Luther King, Jr.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal…"

- Thomas Jefferson

"My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country."

- John F. Kennedy

"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

- Martin Luther King III

"America was built on courage, on imagination and an unbeatable determination."

- Harry S. Truman

"The cost of freedom is always high, but Americans have always paid it."

- John F. Kennedy

"Give me liberty, or give me death!"

- Patrick Henry

"America is hope. It is compassion. It is excellence. It is valor."

- Paul Tsongas

"In the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope."

- Barack Obama

"Democracy is never a final achievement. It is a call to an untiring effort."

- John F. Kennedy

"America is too great for small dreams."

- Ronald Reagan

"You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today."

- Abraham Lincoln

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

- Edmund Burke

"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigues of supporting it."

- Thomas Paine

"May we think of freedom, not as the right to do as we please, but as the opportunity to do what is right."

- Peter Marshall

"Freedom is never granted; it is won."

- A. Philip Randolph

"This is your democracy—make it—protect it—pass it on."

- Thurgood Marshall

"Duty, honor, country. Those three hallowed words reverently dictate what you ought to be, what you can be, what you will be."

- Gen. Douglas MacArthur

"Change often seems impossible until it is inevitable. Just as we must own our lives, we must own our country. For we, the people, are ultimately in control of America's story."

- Valerie Jarrett

"America is another name for opportunity."

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction."

- Ronald Reagan

"Patriotism is not short, frenzied outbursts of emotion, but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime."

- Adlai E. Stevenson II

"The life of the nation is secure only while the nation is honest, truthful and virtuous."

- Frederick Douglass

"There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured with what is right in America."

- William J. Clinton

"No man is entitled to the blessings of freedom unless he be vigilant in its preservation."

- General Douglas MacArthur

"In the face of impossible odds, people who love this country can change it."

- Barack Obama

"Where liberty dwells, there is my country."

- Benjamin Franklin

"In the truest sense, freedom cannot be bestowed; it must be achieved."

- Franklin D. Roosevelt

"For love of country they accepted death."

- James A. Garfield

"Freedom makes a huge requirement of every human being. With freedom comes responsibility."

- Eleanor Roosevelt

"I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country."

- Nathan Hale

"Then join hand in hand, brave Americans all! By uniting we stand, by dividing we fall."

- John Dickinson

"Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves."

- Abraham Lincoln

"Better to die fighting for freedom than be a prisoner all the days of your life."

- Bob Marley

"The fact is, with every friendship you make and every bond of trust you establish, you are shaping the image of America projected to the rest of the world."

- Michelle Obama

"America is a tune. It must be sung together."

- Gerald Stanley Lee

"Heroism doesn't always happen in a burst of glory. Sometimes small triumphs and large hearts change the course of history."

- Mary Roach

"I think of a hero as someone who understands the degree of responsibility that comes with his freedom."

- Bob Dylan

"One flag, one land, one heart, one hand, One Nation evermore!"

- Oliver Wendell Holmes

"I love America more than any other country in this world, and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually."

- James Baldwin

"God who gave us life gave us liberty."

- Thomas Jefferson

"For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others."

- Nelson Mandela

"One flag, one land, one heart, one hand."

- Oliver Wendell Holmes

"Liberty, when it begins to take root, is a plant of rapid growth."

- George Washington

"No man is good enough to govern another man without that other's consent."

- Abraham Lincoln

"Freedom lies in being bold."

- Robert Frost

"What I can do for my country, I am willing to do."

- Christopher Gadsen

"A man's country is not a certain area of land, of mountains, rivers and woods, but it is a principle, and patriotism is loyalty to that principle."

- George William Curtis

"Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little."

- Edmund Burke

"The first requisite of a good citizen in this republic of ours is that he shall be able and willing to pull his own weight."

- Theodore Roosevelt

"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not."

- Thomas Jefferson

"You cannot build character and courage by taking away a man's initiative and independence."

- Abraham Lincoln

"Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning."

- Benjamin Franklin

"Freedom is nothing else but a chance to be better."

- Albert Camus

"America is not just a country—it's an idea."

- Bono

"A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself."

- Joseph Campbell